Missouri point guard Phil Pressey will lead his Tigers in their annual rivalry game against Illinois. (AP Photo)

The Jayhawks got the best of the Buckeyes twice last season—in early December against a Jared Sullinger-less Ohio State team in Lawrence and again in the Final Four—but the primary faces from that Kansas team are different.

And yet, the Jayhawks are very much the same type of team. Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor are in the NBA now, but Bill Self’s club still builds around a lock-down defense—last year, the Jayhawks were fourth in the country in defensive efficiency (86.0), and this year they’re sixth (84.6), according to kenpom.com. Last year, they held opponents to 39.8 percent shooting from 2-point range (second in the country), and this year they’re even better at 37.8 percent (fourth in the country).

You get the point. Jeff Withey has been the best defensive post presence in the nation, and redshirt freshman Ben McLemore is developing into a force on both ends of the court. After a three-point loss to Michigan State in their second game, the Jayhawks—who have four freshmen making significant contributions—have been crushing good teams of late. Colorado, Belmont and Richmond are all top-70 teams in the kenpom.com ratings, and Kansas has beaten all three in the past few weeks by an average margin of victory of 34.3 points.

The Buckeyes, on the other hand, struggled in a 10-point home win against Winthrop on Tuesday and admitted after the game they might have been peeking ahead to Kansas and the opportunity to avenge last season’s losses. They’ve only played one top-100 team so far this season—a no-shame close loss at Duke—and this game will be a good assessment of the team as the Buckeyes get ready for Big Ten action.

This is always an intense, enjoyable game on neutral ground in St. Louis. And when both Illinois and Missouri are ranked among the top dozen teams in the country, all the better.

Illinois has been one of the more surprising teams in the country; the Illini have run out to a 12-0 record under first-year coach John Groce, with largely the same squad that finished 17-15 last year and missed out on postseason play.

Missouri finally got Jabari Brown, a transfer from Oregon, in the lineup for Monday’s game against South Carolina State—the Tigers doubled up the Bulldogs, 102-51—but this will be his first game against a quality team. In theory, Brown will add a much-needed missing element to the Tigers’ offensive game plan—consistent 3-point shooting—though it might take a bit for him to find his rhythm.

The Wildcats haven’t played well to start the second half in either of their games against top-level competition—double-digit losses to Michigan and Gonzaga. They’ll get a chance to reverse that disconcerting trend in Kansas City against a good Florida team that played horribly in the final minute of its loss at No. 4 Arizona last weekend.

Diamond Head Classic

Speaking of Arizona, Sean Miller's Wildcats headline a solid field at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. The tournament begins Saturday, and the potential Sunday semifinals are Arizona against Miami and San Diego State against Ole Miss. Quality stuff. The championship game is set for Christmas night at 9:30 p.m.

TIP-INS

Murray State at Dayton, Saturday, noon (CBS Sports Network). The game within the game—senior point guards Isaiah Caanan (Murray State) and Kevin Dillard (Dayton)—should be every bit as good as the game itself.

Evansville at No. 19 Butler, Saturday, 2 p.m. The Purple Aces have knocked off Butler in overtime each of the last two years, so you can bet the Bulldogs won’t have any post-Indiana upset lack of focus.

South Dakota State at No. 16 New Mexico, Saturday, 2:30 p.m. (Root). After this tester, the Lobos hit the road for games against No. 11 Cincinnati and Saint Louis to close out the 2012 calendar and the non-conference portion of the schedule.

Texas at No. 20 Michigan State, Saturday, 2 p.m. (ESPN2). At least Texas now knows that point guard Myck Kabongo is done. And that 18-point victory against North Carolina on Wednesday is a good jumping off point for the rest of the season.

Florida State vs. Charlotte, Saturday, 2 p.m. (CBS Sports Network). After a 9-0 start—which included a win at Davidson—Charlotte was spanked by 31 at Miami. If another Florida school does the same thing Saturday, the 49ers’ NCAA hopes already will be on the life-support ledge.